Mahmoud Mohieldin

Mahmoud Mohieldin, born on 15 January 1965 in Egypt, is the World Bank Group’s Senior Vice President for the 2030 Development Agenda, UN Relations, and Partnerships. He previously served as Corporate Secretary, President’s Special Envoy and Managing Director.

Prior to joining the World Bank, he was Minister of Investment of Egypt from 2004 until 2010. Dr. Mohieldin also served on several Boards of Directors in the Central Bank of Egypt and the corporate sector. He was a member of the Commission on Growth and Development and selected a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum in 2005.

His professional experience extends into the academic arena as a Professor of Economics at Cairo University and as a Visiting Professor at renowned Universities. He also served as Member of the Board of several universities in Egypt and held senior positions in national and regional research centers and think tanks.

He has authored numerous publications and articles in leading journals in the fields of economics, finance and development in English and Arabic.

Education

Dr. Mohieldin holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Warwick, UK; a Masters in Economics and Social Policy Analysis from the University of York, UK; a Diploma of Development Economics from the University of Warwick; and a B.Sc. in Economics from Cairo University. He also participated in high-level certification programs at Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania and Georgetown University.

Academia

Dr. Mohieldin has been teaching various graduate and undergraduate courses since 1986, focusing on economics and finance at the Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Political Science in Cairo University. At the post graduate level, he taught International Finance and Advanced Macroeconomic Theory and Policy. He taught Economics of Money and Banking and Financial Markets, Microeconomic Theory and Macroeconomic Theory at the undergraduate level. He also supervises and examines post-graduate and Ph.D. students. He is currently a Visiting Professor at Durham Business School. Dr. Mohieldin is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Durham Business School.

He was also an active faculty member, as Coordinator of the Economic Dialogue Forum and founder of the Model Egyptian Stock Exchange (MESE), which, since its commencement, has become one of the biggest and most successful events in the Faculty of Economics and Political Science in Cairo University and many other Universities in Egypt. Mr. Mohieldin also founded and supervised the Economists' Society at the Faculty of Economics and Political Science.

While studying at the University of Warwick (1992–1995), he was an active student as a Coordinator of Graduate Students-Staff Liaison Committee, Department of Economics; Chairman of the Cultural Committee of the General Association of Egyptian Students in the UK; undergraduate Economics tutor; and Development Economics Tutor, and a co-founder of the Economic Society

Early career

Dr. Mohieldin started his career as a Lecturer Financial Economics at the Faculty of Economics and Political Science of Cairo University. He then took on the position of Director of the Macroeconomic and Debt Analysis Unit in the Office of the Minister of State for International Cooperation from 1995 until 1996. In 1996, he became an Economic Advisor in the Office of the Minister of State for Economic Affairs. In 1997, he became Senior Advisor to the Minister of Economy and in 1999, became Senior Advisor to the Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade. In 2001, he moved to the Ministry of Foreign Trade as a Senior Advisor to the Minister. In 2004, he was appointed Minister of Investment.

Dr. Mohieldin also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Egypt (1999-2004); member of the Board of Directors of HSBC-Egypt; member of the Board of Directors of Telecom Egypt; and member of the Board of Directors of the Egyptian Diplomatic Institute at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt. Dr. Mohieldin was also an advisor to the Egyptian Centre for Economic Studies and the Director of Cairo Economics and Finance

Ministry of Investment

Dr. Mohieldin was appointed Minister of Investment upon its establishment in 2004. The Ministry was established with a mandate to reform the investment climate in Egypt, further develop non-bank financial services, and introduce a comprehensive Asset Management Program to State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). He led a comprehensive structural and regulatory reform program to modernize and liberalize the Egyptian economy in those three critical areas - leveraging private investment for growth and job creation; enhancing access to non-bank financial services; and implementing a successful asset management program of public enterprises.

Private investment: through his major legislative and institutional reforms, there was tangible impact on both domestic investments, as well as FDI inflows. Between 2004/05 and 2006/07, private sector investments grew at an average annual rate of 40% and FDI inflows increased from $2 billion in 2004 50 $13.2 billion in 2008. As a result of his leadership, Egypt was named Top Reformer for four years in the Doing Business Report and was top regional recipient of foreign direct investment.

Financial services and corporate governance: Dr. Mohieldin has established a global reputation for effective and strategic management and built an outstanding record of results including: creating an effective single regulator for the non-bank financial sector, the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA); building a stock-market for small and medium-sized enterprises, the Nile Stock Exchange (NILEX); creating the first Institute of Directors in the Arab World; developing an environmental, social and governance index with Standard & Poor for companies listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange (S&P/EGX ESG Index); developing the first Arabic Code of Conduct for corporate governance and introducing guidelines for corporate social responsibility; consolidating and liberalizing the insurance sector and enhancing its regulatory framework; and developing the mortgage finance market and launching Egypt’s first liquidity facility for mortgage refinance. These regulatory reform measures helped allow the non-bank financial services industry to accommodate new products as well as position Egypt as the regional center for financial services at the time.

Asset Management Program: By adopting a comprehensive asset management program, the Ministry of Investment, under the leadership of Dr. Mohieldin, eliminated the 32 million pound debt of State-Owned Enterprises, and brought it to zero; its net assets went from negative to positive. By 2007/08, the portfolio was generating profit of 5.1 billion Egyptian pounds. The Ministry also significantly enhanced corporate governance of SOEs.

World Bank Group

Dr. Mohieldin joined the Bank in October 2010 as Managing Director.^[1] In January 2013, he became the President’s Special Envoy on the Millennium Development Goals, the Post-2015 Agenda, and Financing for Development. In April 2014, in addition to his responsibilities as the President’s Special Envoy, he was appointed as Corporate Secretary and Executive Secretary to the Development Committee of the World Bank Group’s Board of Governors. In January 2016 he took on his current role of Senior Vice President for the 2030 Development Agenda, UN Relations, and Partnerships.

International recognition

For the fourth time in five years, Egypt was named one of the top-10 global reformers, and the top regional reformer in the annual “Doing Business” report of 2010 that is prepared by the World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC). Egypt was the first Arab and African country to join the Investment Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as a participant, the lead FDI recipient country in Africa, and second among the Arab countries in United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) 2007 'World Investment Report'.

Affiliation and membership of professional and academic societies

Mohieldin has held numerous leading positions in think tanks, research centres and academic institutions all over the world. Among these positions has been serving as a member of the Commission on Growth and Development since 2005, alongside several high-profile figures including the likes of Nobel Laureates in Economics Michael Spence and Robert Solow. In 2008, Mohieldin became the Chair of the Advisory Board for the Global Emerging Markets Local Currency Bonds Program (GEMLOC). He has been a Senior Research Associate of the Economic Research Forum of the Arab Countries, including Iran and Turkey]; and a member of the Middle East Studies Association of North America. Mohieldin is a Fellow of the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies in the United Kingdom; and a member of the Egyptian Society for Political Economy in Cairo. He has been an active board member at Benha University, Egypt; the Arab Society for Economic Research; the Centre of European Studies; and the Centre for Economic and Financial Research and Studies at the Faculty of Economics and Political Science of Cairo University, Egypt.

Previous appointments

Mohieldin also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Egypt; a member of the Board of Directors of HSBC-Egypt; member of the Board of Directors of Telecom Egypt; and a member of the Board of Directors of the Egyptian Diplomatic Institute at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt. Mohieldin was also an advisor to the Egyptian Centre for Economic Studies and the Director of Cairo Economics and Finance. In 1999 Mohieldin represented the Egyptian Government in the G33 Meetings. Other memberships and appointment he held included: member of the Executive Committee of the Cairo Centre for Economic Information; member of the Appeal Committee of the Capital Market Authority; economic advisor for the Egyptian Arab African Bank; member of the Appeal Committee of the Capital Market Authority; economic consultant to the Periodic Magazine Al-Benouk; published by the League of Egyptian Banks; and Chairman of the Cultural Committee of the General Association of Egyptian Students in the United Kingdom.

Academic Awards

Mohieldin received the Certificate of Merit, Leadership Seminar at Georgetown University, in the United States in 2003. In the same year he received the Certificate in Capital Flows, Monetary Policy and International Financial System, World Bank Institute and Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. In 2000, he received the Certificate in Housing Finance from Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania in the United States.

Publications and Research

Papers and reports:

- "On Profit Sharing: A Critical Appraisal of Weitzman's Share Economy", Working Papers in Economics #11, Center for Economic and Financial Research and Studies, Faculty of Economics, Cairo University, 1991.

- "On the Reform of the Egyptian Public Sector", a report submitted to the Public Sector Reform Committee, Faculty of Economics, Cairo University, 1991.

- "On the Reform of the Financial Sector", paper presented at the Third Conference of The Economics Department, Cairo University, 1992.

- "Towards a Fiscal Policy for the Palestinian Economy", paper submitted as a part of the Palestinian Development Program, Tunisia, 1992.

- "On the Relevance of Market-based Financial System to Developing Countries", Mimeo, Department of Economics, University of Warwick, 1992.

- "Econometric Tests of the Financial Liberalisation Hypotheses: The Case of Egypt 1960-90". Mimeo, Department of Economics, 1993.

- "Financing Higher Education in Egypt", paper presented at 'the Reform of Egyptian Education System Conference' organised by the Egyptian Embassy, London, 28–29 September 1993.

- "The Reform of the Egyptian Financial Sector: Some Main Reflections", the French Centre for Economic and Legal Studies and Documentation, CEDEJ, Cairo, March 1993.

- "On Financial Development: The Financial Sector between Repression and Liberalisation", Finance and Industry, issue no. 11, 1993, Industrial Bank of . [in Arabic]

- "Formal and Informal Credit Markets in Egypt", Working Paper No. 9415, Economic Research Forum, 1994.

- "Informal Financial Transactions in Egypt: Social Collateral, Collective Arrangements and Pyramid Scheme", Finance and Industry, issue no. 12, Industrial Bank of, 1994.

- "Informal Finance in Egypt", paper presented at the annual conference of the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies, held in July 1994, the University of Manchester, England.

- "The Financial Sector and its Developmental Role: A Theoretical Survey with Reference to Egypt", in Economic Reform and its Distributive Impact, edited by Abdel-Khalek, G. and H. Kheir-El-Din, : Dar-Al-Mustaqbal-Al-Araby, 1994.

- "Causes, Measures and Impact of State Intervention in the Financial Sector: the Case of Egypt 1960-90", paper presented at the Conference of Economic Research Forum of the Arab Countries, Iran and Turkey, on "the Changing Role of the State", Rabat, 8–10 January 1995.

- "Formal and Informal Credit Markets in Egypt", [revised version] paper presented at the Royal Economic Society Conference 1995, Young Economists' Sessions, 27–30 March, University of Kent.

- "Interest Rate, Saving, Investment and Economic Growth under Financial Repression: The Egyptian Example", paper presented at the 2nd conference on International Finance, Philadelphia, USA, 9–11 July 1995.

- "The Uruguay Round and Trade in Financial Services in the Arab Countries", the Economic Research Forum conference September, Istanbul, 1995.

- "On Privatisation in Egypt: With Some Reflections on The Experiences of the Czech Republic and Mexico", paper presented at a Conference organised by the Centre for Political Studies, Alexandria, November 1995.

- "On Formal and Informal Islamic Finance in Egypt", paper presented at the Annual Conference of (MESA), Middle East Studies Association, Washington, 1996.

- "On Competition Policy: An Egyptian Perspective", paper presented at a Conference on the partnership Agreement between Egypt and the EU, organised by the Faculty of Economics, Cairo University and Friedrich Ebert, May and published in L'Egypte Contemporaine, Nos. 441-442 LXXXXVII ième Annee, pp. 5–28, Janvier/Avril 1996.

- "Financing Higher Education in Egypt", paper presented at Al-Menoufya University Annual Conference, Cairo, 1996.

- "The Uruguay Round and Trade in Financial Services in The Arab Countries", Discussion paper in Economics and Econometrics No. 9617, Department of Economics, University of Southampton, England, 1996.

- "The Impact of the Devaluation of the Egyptian Pound", Discussion Paper, Forum for Economic Dialogue, Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University, 1996.

- "Trade in Services and the Egypt-EU Partnership Agreement", paper presented at a conference organised by the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies, on the Egypt-EU Partnership Agreement, Cairo, 1996.

- "On the Impact of the EU Partnership Agreement on the Egyptian Economy with emphasis on Services", International ECSA Conference in Budapest, November 1996.

- "On Arab Economic Cooperation in the Egyptian Policy", paper presented at the 10th annual conference of the Center for Political Research and Studies, Cairo University, December 1996.

- "The Impact of the Egypt-EU Partnership Agreement on Economic Growth", paper presented at the 7th Egyptian-French Conference, Center for Political Research and Studies, Cairo University, 1997.

- "On The Economic Growth Strategy in ", Discussion Paper, Forum for Economic Dialogue, Faculty of Economics, 1997.

- "The Egypt-EU Partnership Agreement and Liberalization of Services", in Regional Partners in Global Markets: Limits and Possibilities of the Euro-Med Agreements, Centre for Economic Policy Research, London, 1997.

- "Globalisation and Economic Rights", Discussion Paper, in Issues of Human Rights, Arab Society for Human Rights, Cairo, 1997.

- "The Draft Law for Competition in Egypt", Discussion Paper, The Egyptian Center for Economic Studies, 1997.

- "The Egypt-EU Partnership Agreement and Liberalization of Financial Services", in On the State of the EU Integration Process Enlargement and Institutional Reforms, edited by Ferenc Mádl, ELTE University, EU Centre for Research and Documentation, Budapest, 1997.

- "Role of Financial Markets in Privatization in the ESCWA Region: Part Two Case-Study of Egypt", paper prepared for The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, 1997.

- "Intellectual Property Rights and the Pharmaceutical Industry in Egypt", Background Policy Paper, The Egyptian Center for Economic Studies, 1997.

- "Testing the Consistency of the Consumer Price Index in Egypt", The Egyptian Center for Economic Studies (mimeo), 1997.

- "Islamic Finance in Egypt", Working Paper No. 17, The for Economic Studies, 1997.

- "Egypt", Chapter 6 in Insurance in the Middle East, FT Finance, Pearson Professional Limited: London, 1997.

- "Interest Rate, Saving, Investment and Economic Growth under Financial Repression: The Egyptian Example", a revised version of paper presented at the 2nd Conference on International Finance, Philadelphia, USA, 9–11 July, published in Arab Economic Journal No. 9- Autumn 1997, Cairo.

- "Prudential Regulation in Egypt", a revised version of the paper presented at an ECES conference titled: "Towards and Efficient Financial Market in Egypt", February 1997, Working Paper No. 29, The Egyptian Center for Economic Studies.

- "New Regionalism and the Arab Economic Cooperation", Al-Siassa Al-Dawlya; Issue no. 131 January 1998, Al-Ahram.

- "Egypt Development Report: 1998", published by the Center for the Study of Developing Countries, Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University.

- "Liberalizing Trade in Financial Services: The Uruguay Round and Arab Countries", World Development, Vol. 26, Issue no. 7, pp. 1331–1348. 1998.

- "Financial Development in Emerging Markets: The Egyptian Experience", Co-edited with Dr. Mohamed El-Erian, published by The International Center for Economic Growth, 1999.

- "On the Institutional Aspects, Distributional Characteristics and Efficiency of the Egyptian Securities Market", paper presented at the workshop organised by the Arab Planning Institute on “Arab Stock Markets: Recent Trends and Performance”, Kuwait 15-16, 1999.

- Presentation on the Role of the Financial Sector in Corporate Governance: The Egyptian Case, Mediterranean Development Forum, March 2000.

- "Financial Services in Egypt after a decade of Financial Liberalization" a presentation at the session on "Financial Center for MENA", Mediterranean Development Forum, March 2000.

- "Integrating Social Dimensions with Egypt’s Economic Reforms", English Public Lecture series of the American University in Cairo, 2000.

- Presentation on Mortgage Finance, Alexandria Businessmen Association, 2000.

- "On the Institutional Aspects, Distributional Characteristics and Efficiency of the Egyptian Securities Market", in Arab Stock Markets: Recent Trends and Performance, American University Press, Cairo, 2000.

- "Challenges of Transition and the Role of National Projects", paper presented at the 18th Strategic Seminar of the Egyptian Army, 2000.

- "On Bank Market Structure and Competition in Egypt", published by the Arab Society for Economic Research, Arab Economic Journal, No. 25, Vol. (10), Autumn 2001.

- "Formal and Informal Credit Markets in Egypt", Economic Development and Cultural Change, Vol 48, no 3, 2000.

- "On Financial Development and its Impact on Economic Growth", Research Papers Series #15, Economics Department, Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University, 2001. [in Arabic]

- "On Globalization and Economic Governance: An Egyptian Perspective", published by the Arab Monetary Fund, 2001. [in Arabic]

- "On the Evolution of the Banking System and Competition in Egypt", published by the Industrial Bank of Kuwait, IBK Papers Series # 67, 2001.

- "On the Formulation and Enforcement of Competition Law in Emerging Economies: The Case of Egypt", published by the Section on Business Law of the International Bar Association, Business Law International, Issue 3 – pp 289–315, September 2001.

- "On Bank Market Structure and Competition in Egypt", Arab Economic Journal, no.25, Vol. (10), Autumn 2001.

- "Globalisation and its Impact on National Security", paper presented to a conference organised by Nasser Academy, College of National Defence, January 2002.

- "Competition Policy in Egypt", paper presented to the Second OECD Global Forum, Paris, February 2002.

- "Fundamentals of Securitisation", paper presented to the Union of Arab Banks, Cairo, March 2002.

- "On Securitisation in Egypt", paper presented to the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies 2002.

- "On The Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment to Egypt", paper presented to the 6th Annual Conference of the Arab Economic Association, Beirut, June 2002.

- "On Exchange Rate Policy in Egypt", paper presented to the joint seminar of the Arab Monetary Fund and the International Monetary Fund, Abu Dhabi, December 2002.

- "Economic Governance in Egypt", A Report Prepared for the United Nations Commission in Africa, 2003.

- "Macroeconomic Policy and Performance in Egypt", An Analytical Study prepared for the Economic Research Forum (ERF) and Forum Euro-Mediterraneaeen des Institutes Economiques, 2003.

- "Financial Policy in Egypt", An Analytical Study prepared for the [null Economic Research Forum (ERF)] and Forum Euro-Mediterraneaeen des Institutes Economiques, 2003.

- "The Challenges of Central Banking in Egypt and the New Banking Law", Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Political Science, 2003.

- "Why Do We Need Regulation?", a presentation to the Joint World Bank/ European Commission Programme on Private Participation in Mediterranean Infrastructure, October 2003, Cairo.

- "Vulnerability of Banking Systems to Crises in Emerging Markets: The Case of Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia”, paper submitted to the 10th Annual Conference, Economic Research Forum for the Arab Countries, Iran and Turkey (ERF), published by the ERF in Selected Papers form the Tenth Annual Conference, December 2003.

- "Economic Management and Corporate Governance in Egypt", paper presented at the Regional Conference on Governance, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), January 2004.

- "Information and the Formulation of Economic Policy in Egypt", paper presented at the annual conference of the Statistics Department, Cairo University, 2004.

- "On Exchange Rate Policy: the Case of Egypt 1970-2001", published by Société Egyptiene d'Economie Politique de Statistique et de Législation, L'Egypte Contemporaine, No. 475-476 LXXXXV iéme ANNÉE, pp 5–52, July–October 2004.

- "Macroeconomic Policy and Performance", published by the Economic Research Forum for the Arab Countries, Iran and Turkey (ERF), Egypt Country Profile: The Road Ahead for Egypt, pp 11–41, December 2004.

- "Financial Policy Issues", published by the Economic Research Forum for the Arab Countries, Iran and Turkey (ERF), Egypt Country Profile: The Road Ahead for Egypt, pp 43–83, December 2004.

- "Prospects of Mortgage Markets in MENA Countries: An Analysis of Financial, Legal and Institutional Aspects with Emphasis on the Egyptian Case Study", published by the Economic Research Forum for the Arab Countries, Iran and Turkey (ERF), Working Paper Series No. 0430, and submitted to the 11th Annual Conference (ERF), December 2004.

- "Inflation", Arab Academy for Science and UNESCO, Arabic Encyclopaedia of Knowledge and Sustainable Growth, 2006. [in Arabic]

- "Bank Privatization in Egypt", published by the Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Volume 46, Issue 5 – pp 707–725, February 2007.

- “The Role of Islamic Finance in Enhancing Financial Inclusion in Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Countries.” World Bank Policy Research working paper; no. WPS 5920. Washington, D.C, Dec. 2011

- “Realizing the Potential of Islamic Finance.” Economic Premise No 77. World Bank, Mar. 2012

- “On the sustainable development goals and the role of Islamic finance.” World Bank Policy Research working paper; no. WPS 7266. Washington, D.C, 15 May 2015

Blogs:

- "Learning at Leisure: Using Entertainment Education to Empower the Poor." Global Public Square. CNN, 4 October 2011

- "The Education Solution." Project Syndicate, 3 November 2011.

- "Islamic Finance Unbound." Project Syndicate, 6 January 2012

- “Banking with Ideas.” Huffington Post, 2 May 2012.

- “The Cooperative Alternative.” Project Syndicate, 25 May 2012.

- “Sustainable Convictions.” Project Syndicate, 16 August 2012.

- “Developing Economies' Long-Term Financing Shortfall.” Project Syndicate, 16 December 2012.

- “The MDGs and Beyond.” Let’s Talk Development, World Bank blog, 10 January 2013

- “Getting Cities Right.” Project Syndicate, 26 February 2013.

- “Financing the Next Development Agenda.” Project Syndicate, 10 June 2013.

- “Managing Water Across Boundaries.” The Water Blog, World Bank, 6 September 2013.

- “The Promise of Financial Inclusion.” Huffington Post, 3 December 2013.

- “Trading Up from Poverty.” Project Syndicate, 18 December 2013.

- “The Road from Thirst.” Project Syndicate, 11 February 2014.

- “Data and Development.” Project Syndicate, 14 March 2014.

- “Partnerships to finance the post-2015 development agenda.” Development Progress financing progress blog series, ODI, 17 July 2014.

- “Combating Desertification in the Post-2015 Agenda.” Huffington Post, 17 July 2014.

- “Bonds of the Diaspora.” Project Syndicate, 25 July 2014.

- “Progress in the Millennium.” Devex. 15 August 2014.

- “Measuring Inclusive Growth.” Project Syndicate, 22 August 2014.

- “The Inclusion Imperative.” Project Syndicate, 6 November 2014.

- “New Frontiers in Development Finance.” Project Syndicate, 18 February 2015.

- “Financing Sustainable Development: Innovative Ideas for Action.” World Bank blog. Washington, D.C, 21 October 2015

- “Finding the Missing Millions Can Help Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.” Huffington Post, 8 December 2015

References

External links

• World Bank Blogs
• Project Syndicate
• Huffington Post
• Biography at Commission on Growth and Development
• Ministry of Investment of Egypt
• International Finance Corporation
• The OECD